A variety of seat belt buckles have been devised to maximize holding capability as well as to improve the cost and ease of manufacture. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,500 issued to Herman E. Happel and James R. Anthony discloses a buckle having a reinforcing plate attached to the cover and main body for strengthening the buckle. The buckle includes a spring biased latch urged upwardly to lockinging receive a seat belt tongue.
In the case of a buckle to be used for securing a child, the amount of spring force required to urge the latch to the locking position is considerably greater as compared to the regular adult buckle. As a result, the assembly of such a buckle becomes exceptionally difficult since the various components must be held together during the final fastening operation. Disclosed herein is a buckle having means for allowing the reinforcement plate to be snapped into position in the main body prior to assembly of the cover to the main body. Further, the cover is attached directly to the reinforcement plate thereby directing all of the assembly force into the plate in lieu of the main body.